Bastions
Chapter Forty Three: Woes of an Empire
Part 4
Prelude:
With the death of his major rival, and the subsequent breakup of the Zähringer lands, Peer Txomin bin Iñigo felt more secure about the Caliphate's future. But Caliph Ramon III Mohoma bin Abbas felt differently. He still feared France and Germany, and to a lesser extent Italy. Iberia was disjointed, four nations that were in no way similar: the Vasques of Navarre, the Christians of Leon, the Berbers of Portugal and the Istimari of Aragon. He had the loyalty of Navarre through the loyalty and friendship of Txomin, but next was to gain the loyalty of Leon. Leon had long held a special status with the Caliphate, but with the Christian population down to about a quarter of the total population of the region the Muslims living in Leon demanded an end to the Christian government. Peer Txomin was put in charge with converting Leon into essentially an extension of Aragon. It would put Caliph Ramon at the head of most of Iberia, especially when one would consider Navarre's loyalty to the crown. The Caliph felt that things were firmly in his grasp; he felt that his sons would inherit the title of Caliph. To him it was ensured that Barcelona would always be the seat of power in Western Europe. In the East, that was the hope. They found working with the Iberians far easier than working with the Germans. It was the hope of King Doyvát that Germany would be seriously crippled by the end of Zähringer domination of the region.
April 14th, 1369
Prince Doyvát was on his first foreign mission for his father. As Lord-Protector of Poland, he was the highest ranking noble other than his father. However, the King stressed to him that the important title to use was Prince of Prussia, the heir apparent to the greatest Christian Kingdom in the world. The young man thought this made sense, especially outside of the Kingdom where people would not likely understand the Prussian hierarchy. His first mission was to England, Prussia's ally in the West. His age seemed to cause quite a fuss in England, where they were expecting a senior diplomat. Doyvát the Younger was only fifteen at the time, hardly old enough to be considered an adult or a diplomat. But the young man had insisted he be allowed to go farther than the palace wall and his father consented.
"These shall be your chambers master David," a butler said. He opened the door to a small suite that had been prepared for the Prince's arrival. "I would suggest getting comfortable and once you are ready you can call for your servants and prepare for dinner."
"Thank you," Doyvát said. He stepped past the man and looked around the charming room. Through a window he could see the forests that England was famed for in Prussia. When he turned he found that the butler had closed the door and left. The Prince thought it rude, but gave it no further thought. He knew he was out gunned here, this was a learning experience, but it seemed that the English had actual plans and things to talk about. Instead, they were babysitting the bored son of a foreign King. He opened the door and called for his servants. Three of them entered with chests and put them down before opening them up and removing pieces of clothing for the Prince's dinner wear.
Dinner was a rather dull affair. Food was decent but few seemed interested in speaking to the young Prince. The room was filled with a sort of palpable animosity, which the English just kept to themselves. They spoke quietly and always in Enlgish or Anglo-Norman, making it hard for Doyvát to understand them, though he did manage to get a few words here and there. Afterwards the men gathered around a table with wine and the women dispersed around the room to talk in small groups of two or three. The Prince chose to stand near the men, despite there being very little recognition to him being present. They were talking about a possible invasion of Ireland, specifically seizing Mann and at least forming some sort of foothold on the Emerald Isle. Many debated that the best place was in Dublin, though other argued that Ulster or other lands closer to Mann and Scotland made more sense. What Doyvát could not concern was why anyone wanted to invade Ireland anyway. It seemed to almost be out of sport.
"Why is it that you would invade another Christian country with the only discernable reason being that you are bored?" Doyvát asked, his English much better than many expected.
"What do you mean, my Lord?" one of them asked.
"You speak of invading Ireland..."
"I meant, what do you mean there is no reason? They are the Irish; it is the duty of the English to resist Ireland and the spread of Revisionism at all costs," the same noble replied.
"Barbarians, they are. Torture and kill women, Norsers, Jews and Moormen with no concern for the law. It is only proper to crush them all," another answered.
"But you do about crushing them with the same glee you say they bring to the torture and rape of others, what makes you any different?" David asked.
"You think you sound wise, my lord, but you make many assumptions: that we use excessive force, or that we string up those who would normally do the stringing up. Prussia has been wise to avoid religious war - I shall grant them that - but it has made the all of you weak and unwilling to fight. We do not march on Ireland with pitchforks raised; we do so in an attempt to bring law to the Isles," the second noble replied, "Duke Edward Grey, Lord of Wales and Marshall of His Majesty's Armies. I've lived through Irish barbarism; let me tell you that you know nothing about the matter at hand... despite what your tutors might say." The introduction left a bitter taste in Doyvát's mouth but he swallowed his pride and took it as a lesson.
"I apologize if my words were uniformed," Doyvát managed.
The Marshal nodded and then stepped aside giving Doyvát room to join them at the table. "The problem is that seizing Mann would be much harder than one might think. Despite it being in a position that can easily be blockaded and starved, the main fortress on the island is one of the largest in Western Europe. Plus it is unlikely that Ireland will be on the defensive for long. While we try to sack Mann, they will invade Wales and likely provoke rebellions in Cornwall."
"Has Cornwall always been a problem?" Doyvát asked, causing several men to erupt into laughter.
"I think we can leave it at that," Edward said. "England is a precious thing, Master David. We defend it from all sorts of nefarious people who would rather anarchy than the rule of King William. There is a stubbornness in the Cornish that I admire, though their allegiances are poorly placed."
By the end of the night only Doyvát and Edward remained, still talking about a possible invasion of Ireland and Prussian support for such an adventure. "What would we do about Scotland?" Doyvát asked. "Wouldn't they side with Ireland?"
"Maybe, but they aren't particularly strong. We can either hold them off along the northern border, or push upwards. Quickly seize their capital and force them out of the war. With our claims against their throne, we might even be able to topple their monarchy and install one more loyal to us."
"That never works, look at Eastern Europe... they are all supposed to be loyal vassals of Prussia but you see how much good that has done," Doyvát replied.
"True. True. It has become rather late, Master David." Maybe you should stop by my estate outside of London before you leave to return to Prussia. It shouldn't be too hard to find." He shook hands with Doyvát before heading out on his own. The Prince smiled. Today had been rather successful, he thought.